Micro-Point, with a long history in IP technologies and Network Security, is implementing Digital IP Cameras systems.  These systems are revolutionizing video surveillance.

It is time for small and mid-sized business to consider installing an IP camera security system. It’s just not that expensive or complicated anymore.  The latest software is revolutionizing video surveillance.  We now have smart software: Motion triggers, which can tell cameras to track objects; software which can discriminate between a human form and other objects (thus reducing false alarms); applications which link video surveillance to safety systems, so that the surveillance system could call the fire department or help turn on sprinklers. Read the rest of this entry »

Google Voice and Gizmo5 allow you to receive phones calls using your internet connection and your PC or Bluetooth headset.  I thought this would be a better way to use my phone where I get poor cell phone reception yet have an excellent internet connection. Read the rest of this entry »

Micro-Point uses Vembu StorGrid at our data center for off-site backups.  It is a critical application that we used to ensure the safety of our Clients information.  It’s flexibility allows us to control costs and keeps multiple copies of mission critical data.  Using it’s unique peer-to-peer (P2P) mode this application can be used to create a local backup, data that you backup to a resource on your network. Read the rest of this entry »

Open DNS is a free DNS (Domain Name Server) service which makes internet browsing safer.  This is an idea solution for home users or schools.  OpenDNS filters out Web page requests at the domain name system (DNS) level.  By default most Internet users use their ISP’s DNS servers for this task.

OpenDNS requires no downloading or installing software, you simply choose OpenDNS DNS servers instead of those assigned by your ISP.  Read the rest of this entry »

KeePass is a free open-source cross-platform password manager.

Years ago I gave up on trying to memorize all of my online accounts,  that is once I learned how to use KeePass.  This is the best Password application I have found, and since it’s cross-platform, you can use it in Windows, Ubuntu, Linux, MacOS X, J2ME (Cell Phones), Blackberry, Windows Mobile etc… Read the rest of this entry »

As a developer I am fanatical about my computers, I spend way too much time testing software and hardware. So when I needed to update my antivirus software, I did my usual research and found that Kapersky and BitDefender are usually rated amongst the best available choices. The most popular antivirus software is usually bloated with extra features so I rule them out. Over time I have used most Antivirus/Antispam software programs and just because one package was good last year, does not make it the obvious choice today.

I chose BitDefender and used it for about a month. Read the rest of this entry »

Snagit is the best utility I have found for day to day PC productivity improvements for heavy computer users. It is hard to explain what it does, but before I try, you need two monitors to use this product effectively!

First, if you do not have two monitors, or one really huge monitor, then you must try that first. I cannot work effectively without the ability to have a search result on one screen while I have the application I am using on the other screen. Once you have adjusted to two monitors, you are ready for Snagit. Read the rest of this entry »

We are configuring 2 PC’s for use in a retail Tea store. One PC will have two PowerPoint presentations displaying the Menu on 42 inch LCD monitors. The other PC will Run three Flash presentations with features and benefits of their products. Sounds real easy doesn’t it? Well it is not! Read the rest of this entry »

We have been testing a 50 Mbit business class fiber circuit. It’s very difficult to measure the performance since so many external factors influence the real throughput. The ISP does not have tools to allow us to measure circuit performance. There are many speed tests on the internet, but they each produce significantly different results. Another factor influencing speed is the distance between the test sites. Most circuits show a dramatic drop off in performance when measured to a point more than a few hundred miles away. Read the rest of this entry »

We were configuring a pair of sophisticated layer 7 Firewalls for high availability (stateful fail over). Stateful failover allows the firewalls to maintain actual session states, providing an almost seamless transition from one unit to the other. Layer 7 refers to firewalls that provide application-layer filtering. In test mode everything worked fine and when first brought them on line, they worked perfectly. Read the rest of this entry »